The much beloved British actor Alan Rickman has died from cancer at the age of 69. Rickman’s most famous film roles include three larger-than-life villains: Hans Gruber in the action classic Die Hard (1988), as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), and the dastardly Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series.

Not confined to bad guys, however, Rickman also made an early mark on screen in a romantic lead in Anthony Minghella’s Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990), later lending his undeniable gravitas and distinctively deep voice to roles amid the ensemble casts of Ang Lee’s version of Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility (1995) and Richard Curtis’s Love Actually (2003).